Police beat

Reynoldsburg police tell man 'in love' to back off in pursuit of woman

Wednesday January 23, 2013 2:20 PM

Reynoldsburg police warned off a would-be stalker after he slept in his truck and left gifts on a woman's porch, reports said.

The reporting officer said a woman called Jan. 14 and said she was in a relationship with the man until she found out he had a wife in another state. She said the man showed up at her place of employment to try to talk to her and parked his truck in front of her house, sleeping in it to stay close to her. The woman said the man repeatedly knocked on her door and looked in the windows, waiting for her to answer.

The woman said she does not know where the man lives, but provided a phone number to police. The officer said he called the man's phone and told him to stay away or he would be arrested. The man told the officer he is "in love" and only wants to talk to the woman, according to reports. The officer told the man he would be arrested for stalking if he shows up again and said the man could come to the police department if he wants to talk further about it.

In other Reynoldsburg police reports:

* Police reported someone shattered a back-door window to gain entrance into an apartment between 2 and 4 p.m. Jan. 16 at a residence in the 2000 block of Stoney Court. The resident said he left to run errands and returned home to find the broken window. He told police a video-game console was missing, along with a video game, controllers and five $20 bills he had hidden in a dresser drawer in his bedroom. Police said the burglary is under investigation.

* A man reported the loss of his truck box and tools worth $750 from the back of his truck between 3:50 and 4:13 p.m. Jan. 17 while it was parked at a business in the 2600 block of Taylor Road Extension. The man told police he had recently unlocked the box from the truck to haul some wood, so the thieves were able to take the whole box.

* A would-be shoplifter was not only caught with merchandise but with a citation for shoplifting from another city, police reported. The reporting officer said he responded to a shoplifting complaint at 12:45 p.m. Jan. 14 at a business in the 2700 block of Taylor Road. Employees detained the man because they said he selected a stroller valued at $148.73 from a shelf and tried to return it with a receipt for a stroller from a Morse Road store. When the service desk refused to give the man a refund, the man attempted to walk out of the business, employees told police. The officer said he searched the man's pockets and found a citation from Whitehall police for shoplifting. Police said they transported the man to the Fairfield County jail.

Police responded to a shoplifting call at 11:47 p.m. later that day at the same business as employees struggled with the shoplifter. The reporting officer said several employees were holding a man down on the ground in the parking lot. The officer said he immediately handcuffed the man and found a small knife and a bag of marijuana in the man's jacket pockets. Employees told police the man cut open the packaging of a BB handgun, concealed it on his person and left the business without paying for the gun, which is worth $64.97. Police charged the man with theft, possession of criminal tools and drug abuse. He was transported to the Fairfield County jail.

* In another shoplifting incident, a man filled a shopping basket with five video-game consoles, valued at $249.99 each, on Jan. 16 and ran out the door of a business in the 2700 block of Taylor Road Extension, police reported. Employees told police the man was white, in his late 20s, wearing a red ball cap, a blue hoodie and dark jeans. The man sped away in a silver Volkswagen Beetle with tinted windows, according to reports.